Evaluation of university students' knowledge, attitudes, and practices on food safety in Bolu, Türkiye

Abstract

This study aims to assess the food safety knowledge, attitudes, and practices of university students in Türkiye. A cross-sectional study was conducted with the participation of 630 university students from the departments of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts (GCA), Food Engineering (FE), Nursing (NUR), and Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation (PTR) in Bolu, Türkiye. The GCA students scored the highest (25.46 ±2.85) and the NUR students scored the lowest (21.81 ±3.27) on food safety knowledge. The GCA students scored the highest (51.42 ±5.58) and the NUR students scored the lowest (49.00 ±6.07) on food safety attitudes. The FE students scored the highest (10.12 ±1.69) and the NUR students scored the lowest (9.69 ±1.77) on food safety practices. The students who took a course on food safety had significantly higher scores on food safety knowledge, attitudes, and practices than those who did not. Although the students' food safety scores were above average, they had a lack of knowledge and concerns in many areas. It was emphasized the importance of food safety education to fill the knowledge gaps and thus to prevent foodborne illnesses.